


The Other Shoe

by Mister_Fox



Series: beware beware the yellow door, the one that wasn't there before [3]
Category: Bleach, The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Domestic, Fluff, M/M, Monsters, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:35:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24438304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mister_Fox/pseuds/Mister_Fox
Summary: Everything is okay, but some things are not the same.Ichigo makes a list of everything that changes.UraIchi Week 2020 - Day 5, Domesticity
Relationships: Kurosaki Ichigo/Urahara Kisuke, Urahara Kisuke/Kurotsuchi Mayuri/Kurosaki Ichigo
Series: beware beware the yellow door, the one that wasn't there before [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1737916
Comments: 2
Kudos: 21
Collections: UraIchi Week 2020





	The Other Shoe

Things are not the same, anymore. They can’t be, of course, not now that Ichigo knows that Kisuke is- was, he _was_ the Archivist. (He’s just the Archive, now, whatever it was that he did in the Panopticon reforging the connection to the Beholding that he paid with his eyes to get rid of.)

But it’s not the knowing that makes it different.

It’s the... _side-effects_.

The consequences.

* * *

The first thing, and least weird thing, is that anything with a spiral design on it quite abruptly vanishes from Mayuri’s and Kisuke’s shared home. Which is Ichigo’s too, now, really, because Kisuke says something about it being better and safer and Ichigo’s kinda meagre possessions suddenly take the empty spaces left by the vanished items.

* * *

“Take these- to a second-hand shop or something, yes?” Mayuri says, gesturing at a pile of boxes. Looking around the room, Ichigo can see gaps on shelves, absences of things.

“Sure. I know a place.” It’s a simple favour to do.

“Thank you.”

“Kisuke’s out on an errand. He requested me to pass on to you an offer of our spare room. With your status as Archivist, there are plenty of things out there that would like some very unpleasant things to happen to you. This place is protected.”

Ichigo did not expect that.

Mayuri is silent, for a moment, before he adds, “We find your company quite pleasant, as well.”

Oh. Well. O- _kay_.

Ichigo looks into the boxes, waiting for a cab to help him transport the lot.

It’s… random stuff, really, cups and plates and scarves, all patterned with swirls or spirals or fractals, or- Oh. Right.

He’ll get rid of these asap.

* * *

There are a lot of spaces to put down Ichigo’s own things, with the recent _spring cleaning,_ and a spare bedroom to claim for his own.

Not that he uses his own bed, much. The other two beds are as comfortable for sleeping as they are for cuddling, unlike his own, which is not meant for two people, let alone three. And Mayuri does not sleep well now, and worse when alone.

And Ichigo’s not about to let him hog Kisuke all the time, of course.

Even if it does mean having to put up with pillow, blanket, space, and himself-hogging instead.

* * *

Ichigo expects the mirrors to go any day soon, if the frustrated look on Mayuri’s face when he catches sight of his own new curls is any indication. They’re larger, looser than Szayel’s were- but no matter how much product and straighteners Mayuri applies, they refuse to return to what they were.

No matter what, Mayuri’s waist-length mane of hair remains staunchly wavy.

Kisuke points out to him that _that_ will only happen if Mayuri’s preference for make-up doesn’t win out, and he’s far, far too vain for that to ever be the case.

“Vain as a peacock. To be fair, with a name like his...” Kisuke comments in response to Ichigo’s idle musings. At Ichigo’s confused look, he elaborates. “The word ‘Mayuri’ means ‘peahen’, in Sanskrit.”

* * *

Mayuri doesn’t say, exactly, what it was like. Not in one long explanation, just bits and pieces that trail off because whatever happened, he is not ready to _talk_.

And Ichigo sure as hell won’t be trying to pull a statement out of him, not when Mayuri’s trying so very hard to compartmentalise and shove it all away so he can still go to work every day, still act like everything’s fine.

Or fine enough that his colleagues stop bothering him with questions.

He tells Ichigo and Kisuke that if anyone asks what happened, to say that some weirdos kidnapped him, and then the two of them tracked him down and rescued him.

A simple story that they can all stick to if someone gets too nosy, and Ichigo doesn’t disagree, just hashes out the details of it with Kisuke.

It’s basically the truth, even, just a little less monstrous and supernatural. A cleaner, nicer thing than whatever haunts Mayuri’s almost every night, than the thing that leaves Kisuke and Ichigo so used to a restless bed partner that they can sleep the whole night through.

* * *

The second least-weird thing is that Kisuke can _see_ now.

Sort of.

Sometimes.

* * *

“Do I really look like that?” Ichigo catches Kisuke murmuring, and frowns at him, confused.

Kisuke suddenly looks guilty.

“I, ah, may have forgotten to mention, and- it has only been a couple of hours since it started, and we have been very busy. And I wanted to test something, as well.” He runs a hand through his hair. “The Beholding has given me the ability to see through all the eyes that feed it. For instance, yours.”

Ichigo takes a moment to digest that. “Like, all the time, because if yes, that’s kinda… Uh.”

“Merely when I choose to. It is similar to Bach’s ability, but, I think, the protections on this place are sufficient that he can not access the eyes in this location, while _I_ can. I suppose, as the Archive instead of the Archivist, having different powers now is to be expected.” He looks thoughtful. “It may be… worth it to invest in some Beholding-cursed spectacles for myself. Even if using them outside here may not be safe.”

Ichigo sincerely hopes that Kisuke wasn’t testing his new ability at any of the times when he had been checking out Kisuke’s proper, un-obscured-by-Stranger appearance. Thinking of that-

“Do you need any help fixing your disguise, or- whatever you had before, that meant no one could recognise you?”

Kisuke shakes his head. “I am afraid that is not possible. I will… need time to devise new precautions, but until then, I can not leave.”

* * *

House-bound Kisuke is the third thing, not that there’s much to say about that, but it’s weird to come home and have someone _always be there_.

Mayuri’s shifts are strange and irregular, or maybe it’s that he stays at work longer, trying to work himself into forgetting what happened, so sometimes Ichigo only sees him once a day, crawling into the shared bed, hair out of the braid it’s been in all day.

But Kisuke? Kisuke’s always there, always working on his own stuff- or on the _research._

* * *

“Do you think you’ll be able to leave the house soon?” Ichigo asks, lounging on the couch. Kisuke’s sitting next to him, bent over one of Aizen’s books, reading with the aid of some engraved glasses.

“It is difficult to say. I am unwilling to risk being found by Bach, not when I am the last thing he needs in order to end the world as we know it. I have made… little progress in finding out how to free your friends from his employ in a more pleasant way than the one I found.”

Ichigo reaches over to rest a hand on Kisuke’s shoulder.

“I believe in you,” he says, and then leans over to press a kiss on his cheek.

Kisuke leans into him, tired.

“Worst case scenario, I will simply usurp his place on the throne in the Panopticon.”

Ichigo shakes his head. “As long as we still have any time- that’s not an option. You’re not less important than the rest of my friends.”

The next words are so quiet that Ichigo barely catches it.

“And what about the world? Do you want me to one day live with the knowledge of ending it? I nearly could not _stop_ the words when I destroyed Szayel, it took control of me, and- you can not even imagine, a world ruled over by the Entities, the _nightmares_ I got a glimpse of-”

Ichigo pulls Kisuke into an embrace, holding him. So that’s what has been eating at him so badly, driving him into the research. Among the other things.

“Look- if it makes you feel better, I promise I’ll kill you before you can finish whatever incantation summons the entities.”

There’s a moment of silence.

“Yes, it does.”

“Then I promise.”

* * *

And then there are the nightmares.

Ichigo has not slept well since the maggots attacked the Institute, but he had attributed that to knowing how real some of the statements must be. He had attributed the details and contents of the dream to thinking too much about the statements that had to go on tapes.

It’s different, now.

* * *

“Ill dreams?” Kisuke asks as Ichigo walks into the kitchen, looking to make himself some tea. The kettle is already heating up, however, with enough water for several portions.

“Yeah.”

“Part of the whole Archivist job, I am afraid.”

“Wait, what?”

Kisuke looks sympathetic. “Did you also think it a coincidence that you would dream of things from the statement? That is not the case, unfortunately. Those who give statements directly to you become connected to you, as every night the Beholding feasts upon their dreams.”

Oh. “So- that’s them? In the dreams?”

He receives a tired nod in answer. “Yes. And they see you there as well, standing, watching. I… have not missed these dreams, but it is different now. I watch from the perspective of the… well. The eye that serves as the sky in the dreams. I saw your dream about the astronomy professor.”

“That’s... unpleasant. Wait, so, when I’ve been seeing Mayuri…”

“We’ve all shared a dream, yes, and more than once.”

“...Well, I guess I’ll try to stay in his dreams, then. Maybe he’ll appreciate the company.”

The kettle whistles, and Ichigo starts pouring out the hot water, glancing at the teabags Kisuke’s already retrieved.

Chamomile.

Good choice.

* * *

Ichigo drifts awake, somewhere on the edge of sleep and wakefulness. There’s a faint sense of unease and darkness from the dreams he’s left behind, but the bed is warm and comfortable and soft, and there’s a familiar scent of floral shampoo.

Home.

“Is this all... worth it? Saving me. Everything we have to live with now?” A soft voice murmurs quietly.

“Yes,” the reply is so faint Ichigo barely hears it.

He falls asleep before he can verbally agree as well.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments give me life!
> 
> Here's a link to [Cywscross' UraIchi Discord Server](https://discordapp.com/invite/ADFnKTZ#_=_)!


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